1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to establishing a continuous communication session between a mobile device and a vehicle using Near Field Communications (NFC) and, more particularly, to a method for establishing a continuous communication session between a mobile device and a vehicle using NFC in which the mobile device can host applications in lieu of a vehicle controller, the device can be used to permit or restrict certain vehicle functions, and data can be continuously or intermittently transferred from the device to the vehicle and vice versa.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Wireless communication systems have become increasingly common in modern vehicles, enabling customer mobile devices to interact with vehicles in a variety of ways. Among the wireless technologies, Near Field Communications (NFC) provides inherently strong security by virtue of its very short wireless transmission range. Whereas Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals travel well outside the confines of a host vehicle and are therefore susceptible to eavesdropping and more serious malicious attacks, the same is not true for NFC. NFC signal range is only 2-4 centimeters, thus making it infeasible for NFC signals to be intercepted by a device which is not physically located within the host vehicle.
Because of NFC's inherent security, its usage in vehicles may become prevalent. Although vehicle manufacturers have considered a number of features which use NFC to communicate with a customer mobile device, there remains a tremendous amount of untapped potential. In particular, NFC is typically used only for transferring a small amount of data on a one-time basis when two NFC devices are placed in close proximity. By combining the power of modern smart phones and other mobile devices with the security of NFC, and extending the NFC communications between the device and the vehicle to a continuous time session, it is possible to use the mobile device to provide value-added feature content to a vehicle without adding cost to the vehicle itself. It is also possible to simplify vehicles by replacing certain components with a combination of mobile device-based applications and NFC-based motion-detection.